A gaming platform tailor-made to these with particular wants

As a society, we’ve determined to enact some measures to make our world extra accessible to these with disabilities. Wheelchair ramps, for instance, are sometimes authorized necessities for companies in lots of nations. However we are likely to drop the ball with regards to issues aren’t requirements. As an example, leisure choices are an afterthought a lot of the time. That’s why Alain Mauer developed this LED gaming platform for folks with particular wants.

This system gives a whole lot of flexibility in order that builders can tailor it to a particular particular person’s personal wants and tastes. Mauer designed it for his son, who’s 17 years outdated and lives with non-verbal autism. Leisure choices meant for neurotypical folks don’t have interaction the teenager, however toys designed for kids fail to carry his curiosity for lengthy. This sport, dubbed “Scott’s Arcade,” is easy to grasp and work together with, whereas nonetheless providing a whole lot of replayability. It’s also sturdy and capable of stand up to tough dealing with.

Scott’s Arcade consists of a “display screen” made up of individually addressable RGB LEDs and a faceplate with form cutouts that act as masks for the LEDs. An Arduino Nano controls the lights and responds to presses of the massive buttons beneath the display screen. It might probably set off sound results by way of a DFRobot DFPlayer Mini MP3 participant as effectively.

Mauer programmed a couple of easy video games for the system, similar to an identical sport that challenges the participant to seek out the circle of the identical coloration because the triangle. After they succeed, they’re rewarded with fanfare sound results and flashing lights. Makers can even program their very own video games to go well with the gamers’ talents and pursuits.